Twelve Capital Region high school students have won Astronomy and Space Camperships and Internships in award competitions sponsored by the Dudley Observatory, the nation's oldest independent supporter of astronomical research and education. The awards will be presented on Tuesday, June 8, in a ceremony beginning at 8:00 PM at the Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center. The ceremony will feature presentations to the winners and honorable mention awardees, and short talks by past winners. It will be followed by telescope viewing.

The winner of the Albert Hessberg II Astronomy Campership Awards is John Qi of Shaker High School. This award pays tuition and travel expenses to attend the nationwide Advanced Teen Astronomy Camp in Tucson, Arizona. Britney Johnson, a sophomore at Berlin Junior-Senior High School, is the winner of the Rita Spenser Space Campership, which pays tuition and travel expenses to attend the U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Winners of Dudley Observatory Rising Star Internships are Hanna Birkhead of Bethlehem Central H.S., Lynnette Cole and Daniel Jakaitis of Guilderland H.S., Blair Coppola, Devin Fortman, Kaitlyn Oudt and Christina Preddice of Schalmont H.S., Colin Littlefield of LaSalle Institute, Ruth Mahon of Burnt Hills–Ballston Lake H.S., and Josh Marsfelder of Granville Central Junior/Senior H.S.

Qi will travel to the mountaintop observatory of the University of Arizona, near Tucson. The students will carry out a wide variety of astronomical activities, including nighttime observation of the stars through the university's giant telescopes. They will carry out daytime observing of the Sun using a variety of instruments, participate in an exchange of ideas with professional astronomers, and carry out their own astronomical research projects.

Johnson will attend the Advanced Space Camp in Huntsville. This program, created in cooperation with NASA, brings together outstanding high school students with an interest in the space program for education and adventure. The campers gain in-depth experience in many aspects of space exploration, including hands-on training for a simulated mission on the Space Shuttle.

In the Rising Star Internship Program, each winner receives a telescope and learns to use it to locate a variety of celestial objects. The interns, assisted by mentors from the Albany Area Amateur Astronomers, will gain the knowledge and experience needed to provide free public astronomy education programs at schools and other venues throughout the community. The Rising Star Program, which has been supported by grants from the Troy Savings Bank and the American Physical Society in the past, has been expanded to accept ten interns this year, thanks to the generous donation of five telescopes by Hardin Optical.

The Dudley Observatory, founded in 1852 in Albany and now located in Schenectady, carries out a wide range of programs of education and research in astronomy, astrophysics, and the history of astronomy. The awards and internships being presented at this ceremony are open to high school students in Albany, Fulton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, and Washington Counties. Albert Hessberg II, for whom the astronomy campership award is named, was a leading Albany attorney and astronomy enthusiast who served for many years as a trustee of the Dudley Observatory. Rita Spenser, for whom the space campership is named, made major contributions to the observatory in her many years as executive secretary. The Rising Star Program was developed and is managed by Janie Schwab, Secretary of the Dudley Observatory Board of Trustees.